JOIN USAccidents kill 36 in Assam
The first accident occurred when a bus carrying a marriage party fell into a 40-foot deep pond in Kamrup (rural) district. Thirty-one passengers, including 12 women, were killed in the accident on Monday night.
The bus was going to Dihu from Guwahati. Among the killed were bridegroom Naba Kumar Sarma, his parents and friends. Three children were also among the victims, police said.
Six critically injured passengers were rescued and admitted to Mukundo Kakoti Civil Hospital in Nalbari district, the police said.
The bus was fished out of the pond by the police with the help of locals and Army personnel. The state government has announced a compensation of Rs 1 lakh each to the next of the kin of the dead and Rs 50,000 to those injured.
In the second accident, five people were charred to death and 20 suffered burns when an overturned oil tanker from which they were collecting fuel burst into flames at Badulipara in Golaghat district.
The tanker carrying ten tonnes of petrol was going to Jorhat from Guwahati when it overturned at Badulipura on National Highway 37 and soon some locals gathered at the spot to collect fuel. Suddenly, an overhead wire fell on the tanker triggering a blast. The vehicle burst into flames, police said.